1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lube oil composition, and in particular, to a lube oil composition containing carbon nanocapsules.
2. Description of the Related Art
A carbon nanocapsule is a polyhedral carbon cluster composed of a ball-in-ball multi-layered graphite structure, with a diameter of 3-100 nm, mainly 30-40 nm. A carbon nanocapsule may be hollow or filled with metals. A carbon nanocapsule shell is composed centrally of six-membered rings and marginally of five-membered rings. Each carbon atom is formed of sp2 hybrid orbit. A carbon nanocapsule possesses high thermal conductivity, high electrical conductivity, high strength and chemical stability due to a specific multi-layered graphite structure. A carbon nanocapsule with a protective space can prevent internal metal particles from aggregation, diffusion or oxidation by environmental influence, maintaining internal nano metal structure and quantum effect.
Compared to conventional plated graphite material, the structure of each layer for a spherical carbon nanocapsule is similar to a geodesic dome, with a diameter of about 10 nm to 100 nm. A lubricant agent containing carbon nanocapsules having a closed structure and non-exposure active boundaries possesses superior quality, suitable for use in microelectronics. Conventional layered graphite material is composed of slipped layered compounds. The layered graphite material is a flat slipped gel, with a reduced friction force. However, the layered boundaries are chemically active and slowly decompose and split to connect with metal surfaces following lubrication. Spherical nanoparticles utilize a fine ball bearing rotation to reduce friction force and abrasion. Each nanoparticle can enter gaps of the metal surface. Additionally, such lubricant agent can resist environmental deterioration due to the non-exposure active boundaries of the spherical nanoparticles.
However, dispersal of spherical nanoparticles with non-exposure active boundaries in solvent is difficult. Thus, improvement of dispersion of nanoparticles in an organic phase (lube oil) to reduce friction force is desirable.